2021 MLB Regular Season thread

If they didn't, franchise turnover would be fast and furious, paper franchise bankruptcy would be common and real live lock-the-doors bankruptcy would happen periodically.
I don't believe any MLB franchise has gone functionally broke since the early 1950s.

 

Not sure if declaring bankruptcy (cue Michael Scott) would be the same as being functionally broke, but the Seattle Pilots declared it on 1970, were sold, and moved to Milwaukee just a few days before the season started.

Reading up on that, sounds like a major messy situation all around.

 

Passan analyzes the sticky stuff crackdown:

Fastballs over the final 10 days of the month spun on average 93 rpm slower than over the season's first two months. Cutters had 81 fewer rpm, curveballs 78 and sliders 76. That is a massive change -- and almost overnight. For those curious of exactly how pervasive sticky stuff was in baseball, the answer is clear.

What does it mean? Well, batting average is up, and so is slugging percentage. That's all well and good, and it probably will remain the case, but to use these samples and draw a definitive answer may be premature. Thankfully, there is more than half a decade of data that provides a very good sample -- and a very good sense of how spin works. …

It's not a massive jump, but seven points of batting average and slugging percentage in this offensive environment constitutes something. And if the impetus behind baseball's crackdown wasn't just to look like it's taking cheating seriously all of a sudden but to help juice offense, it seems well on its way to working.

To better understand how the average four-seam fastball dipped almost 100 rpm, ESPN looked at changes in individual four-seam spin rate since June 3. Through the end of the month, 246 pitches had thrown at least 100 four-seamers prior to June 3 and at least 25 after. Of those pitchers, 188 threw with less spin after June 3. That's more than 75% of pitchers.

Eleven lost at least 200 rpm on their fastball. Fifty dropped more than 100 rpm. Here are those who dipped by at least 150 rpm.



Perhaps the most fascinating part isn't just the loss of spin, it's the usage of the diminished pitches. While the sample is unquestionably too small to suggest it's going to be a pattern, Trevor Bauer was throwing his fastball on 41.4% of pitches over the first two months but has done so just 27.1% of the time in his five starts since June 3.

Also in the top 10 of pitchers throwing their fastball significantly less since the crackdown: New York Mets star Jacob deGrom. Though fear not. If there were any questions about deGrom using sticky stuff, perhaps this is the definitive answer: He's actually averaging 26 more rpm on his heater since June 3.​

Passan: How baseball is changing forever, why offense is soaring and what July will bring

 

Joe Kelly traded his jersey for a mariachi jacket after a band performed at Dodger Stadium last weekend. He wore his new jacket to the White House today, where the Dodgers were honored by the president.

 

“Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball on Friday amid allegations of sexual assault.

A woman obtained a temporary protective order against the Los Angeles pitcher after an alleged assault earlier this year that police are investigating.”

 

Congrats, you can copy and paste.

 

Hence the quotation marks

 

Sorry, congrats you can hit shift-apostrophe after ctrl-v. I still fail to see what your point is. Probably something, something media something, something Black people.

 

I was going to let you draw your own conclusions but perhaps someone can explain it you.

 

I should say I thought Han Sen’s post was on this thread instead of the Trevor Bauer thread which was more why I thought your copy and paste job with no context was weird.

 

He looks like Scoot McNairy’s evil twin.

 

Ohtani now with 30 homers after hitting 2 tonight. It's still the 4th inning.